Thesis (M.Sc. (Geography)) - Rhodes University, 2008

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California at Berkeley, 1995. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 181-206).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Queensland, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.A.) - Carleton University, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 134-149). Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T20:00:37Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 3605.pdf: 1905240 bytes, checksum: 95d2c2e8b6aeb7a521b07d162a4226fc (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009-08-30 / The principal aim of this research was to analyze the management of the Hydrographical Basin Committee (HBC) in order to implement the Water Resources Policy (HRP) in the State of São Paulo, establishing relations among the main problems, the indicated procedures to resolve them, and the management of the HBC-SJD (Hydrographical Basin Committee of the River São José dos Dourados). The research started with the interest in knowing whether the Hydrographical Basin Committee would be fulfilling completely the objectives of the Management of Hydric Resources Integrated System (MHRIG) or not, in the quality of a consultive and deliberative organ at the regional level, for the execution of the Hydric Resources Policy in the State of São Paulo. The study object was the Hydric Resources Management Unity of the Basin of the River São José dos Dourados, taking into consideration the financial resources application from the Hydric Resources State Fund (HRSF) in the period of 2004/2008. After identifying the problems we considered their priorities from a public consult, and subsequently raised the criteria to the hierarchization of the prioritized procedures during the period being studied. We adopt the neoclassical theory of management in order to investigate both the Hydric Resources Policy and the HBC-SJD management cycle. From the examination of the main problems, of the prioritized procedures, of the chosen criteria to the hierarchization and of the management functions performed by the Committee we could verify the hypotheses of the research and thus contribute to the improvement and to the reformulation of the Policy in the region. Though the reports on The Situation of the Hydric Resources of the Hydrographical Basin and on the Plans of Hydrographical Basins are reference documents to the management, it is essential that they play a role of supervision and that they are continuously brought up-to-date, enabling the analysis of the current situation taking into account the performed procedures, supporting the planning, building settings and checking the obtained results. The recommendations and proposals presented refer to the requirement of supervision and systematic review of the adopted procedures, aiming an efficacious and efficient management of the HBCs in other hydrographical regions. / O objetivo principal desta pesquisa foi analisar os procedimentos de gestão do Comitê da Bacia Hidrográfica do Rio São José dos Dourados para a implementação da Política de Recursos Hídricos no Estado de São Paulo, estabelecendo-se relações entre os principais problemas, as ações indicadas para resolvê-los,. A pesquisa partiu do interesse em saber se o Comitê da Bacia Hidrográfica estaria ou não atendendo plenamente os objetivos do Sistema Integrado de Gerenciamento de Recursos Hídricos, na qualidade de órgão consultivo e deliberativo de nível regional, para a execução da Política Recursos Hídricos do Estado de São Paulo. O objeto de estudo foi a Unidade de Gerenciamento de Recursos Hídricos da Bacia do Rio São José dos Dourados, sendo considerada a aplicação dos recursos financeiros do Fundo Estadual de Recursos Hídricos no período 2004/2008. Após a identificação dos problemas foi feita a priorização a partir da realização de uma consulta pública, sendo ainda, na sequência, realizado um levantamento dos critérios para hierarquização das ações e para a caracterização das ações priorizadas no período estudado. Adotou-se a teoria neoclássica da administração para análise do ciclo administrativo da Política de Recursos Hídricos e da gestão do Comitê. A partir do exame dos principais problemas, das ações priorizadas, dos critérios adotados para a hierarquização e das funções administrativas executadas pelo Comitê foi possível verificar se os procedimentos adotados pelo Comitê para a gesto dos recusos hídricos, com isso contribuir para o aperfeiçoamento e a reformulação da Política na região. Embora os relatórios sobre "A Situação dos Recursos Hídricos da Bacia Hidrográfica" e os Planos de Bacias Hidrográficas sejam documentos de referência para gestão, é fundamental que tenham a função de acompanhamento e que haja a atualização continuada, tornando-se possível analisar a situação presente observando as ações realizadas, apoiando o planejamento, construindo cenários e controlando os resultados obtidos. As recomendações e propostas apontam para a necessidade de acompanhamento e revisão sistemática dos procedimentos adotados com vistas à gestão eficiente e eficaz. O método utilizado poderá subsidiar a analise da gestão dos CBHs em outras regiões hidrográficas.

This thesis develops and validates a comprehensive methodology for measuring sustainability of a large river basin by using a tailored indicator set. The concept of river sustainability concerns not only the ecological condition of the river course, but also socioeconomic activities in the river basin. River sustainability is defined from five perspectives: sufficient resource, resilience to water-related risks, access to water supply and other services, productive use of water, and fairness between different users and generations. The Process Analysis Method (PAM) is employed as the guideline for developing sustainability assessment framework. As a participatory approach, PAM engages stakeholders to identify emerging issues and impacts on sustainability. Through a systematic process, a tailored indicator set is selected and categorized under three domains, namely, environmental performance, social wellbeing, and economic development. Two case studies have been undertaken, examining the underlying sustainability of the Lower Yellow River basin (LYR) and Upper Ganges River basin (UGR). Extensive fieldwork was carried out in China and India, in order to conduct stakeholder interviews and to collect multivariate data. 18 indicators are selected for LYR and 12 for UGR. The LYR assessment is conducted over the period from 1950 to 2010, whilst UGR features a 10-year period from 2001 to 2010. By processing raw hydrological data and socio-economic statistics, a normalized score is calculated for each indicator in a given year, the value ranging between 0 and 1, where 0 represents poor performance and 1 refers to a fully sustainable status. The results show that, although social wellbeing and economic status for LYR have progressively improved since 1950, environmental quality declined in the latter half of 20th century, with the lowest point in 1997 when extreme drought occurred. The Yellow River Conservancy Commission (YRCC), the government authority responsible for the LYR, implemented measures to improve the river health by multifunctional infrastructure projects and water allocation regulation. This effort proved to be effective as the general sustainability performance subsequently improved. The UGR study also identifies the trade-off between environmental capital and socioeconomic capital. With vast expansion of hydropower projects and new settlement in flood-prone areas, communities along the UGR are increasingly vulnerable to extreme events. However, the Ganges river basin authority lacks the capacity for integrated planning which would enable projects like flood defence schemes to be undertaken in a proper framework. It is likely that the environmental performance of the UGR will continue to decline, particularly with increasing uncertainty in climate, as the UGR basin management is not improving resilience sufficiently. By performing this comparative analysis, it has been shown that integrated river basin management should incorporate institutional capacity, stakeholder engagement, resilience and transparency. This research also contributes to underpinning policies for Integrated River Basin Management (IRBM). The assessment provides policy-makers and river managers with a holistic view of the river basin; the framework can be used to track progress towards sustainable development and identify priorities for multi-criteria decision-making.